Wednesday, November 07, 2018

Top five includes Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO, and Starz, all propelled by original content

Parks Associates today released its updated list of the top 10 subscription over-the-top (OTT) video services in the U.S. market, based on estimated number of subscribers. Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu continue to hold the top-three slots, with HBO Now and Starz moving into the top five.

1 Netflix

2 Prime Video Users (Amazon Prime)

3 Hulu (SVOD)

4 HBO Now

5 Starz

6 MLB.TV

7 Showtime

8 CBS All Access

9 Sling TV

10 DIRECTV Now

“Which company is the leading OTT video subscription service remains a topic of debate,” said Brett Sappington, Senior Director of Research, Parks Associates. “According to our estimates, Amazon has more Prime Members than Netflix has subscribers. However, when you consider only those Prime Members that use Prime Video, Netflix is the largest. Hulu remains the third largest but continues to grow its subscriber base.”

The firm notes the rise of a second tier of OTT video services from services with recognized brands, including several with high profile original content. Online pay-TV services Sling TV and DIRECTV NOW round out the top ten, ahead of similar services Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV, and PlayStation Vue. Online pay TV has been one of the fastest growing segments in the OTT video space, with aggressive marketing by all.

“HBO, Starz, Showtime, and CBS All Access demonstrate the powerful attractiveness of original content through series like Game of Thrones and Star Trek: Discovery,” Sappington said. “This pattern suggests new services such as WarnerMedia’s DC Universe and the forthcoming streaming service from Disney could achieve success quickly.”

The top subscription sports OTT video services are MLB.TV, WWE Network, and ESPN+. MLB.TV continues to lead the sports OTT subscription category, benefiting from its long tenure as a streaming service and popularity among dedicated baseball fans. WWE also has a dedicated fan base and publicly reported having over 1.2 million U.S. subscribers at the end of Q3 2018.[1] ESPN+ is a newcomer to the OTT video marketplace but recently announced that it had exceeded 1 million subscribers.[2]

Parks Associates’ OTT Video Market Tracker tracks the content offerings, business strategies, and subscription numbers for OTT services in North America. Additional data from these services:

OTT video subscription penetration has reached 64% of U.S. broadband households. Over two-thirds of these households subscribe only to one of the top three services, Netflix, Prime Video, or Hulu.

36% of broadband households subscribe to two or more OTT video services.

The online pay-TV audience is similar to the OTT audience—they are younger and quicker to adopt new technologies when compared to traditional pay-TV households.

Over the past three years, OTT churn rates have gradually fallen each year from 31% of OTT subscriptions cancelled each year in 2015 to 28% in 2018.

About Parks Associates: Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, primary studies, consumer research, custom research, workshops, executive conferences, and annual service subscriptions.

The company's expertise includes the Internet of Things (IoT), digital media and platforms, entertainment and gaming, home networks, Internet and television services, digital health, mobile applications and services, support services, consumer apps, advanced advertising, consumer electronics, energy management, and home control systems and security.